The invention relates to extensible bumpers for automobiles and other motor vehicles, these bumpers being designed to extend upon the vehicle approaching a collision situation to provide a greater cushioning effect upon impact due to the greater length of bumper travel available.
The recent increase in interest in safety for vehicle passengers and in the reduction of the high repair costs arising from the involvement of vehicles of current design in minor accidents has led to the development of numerous bumpers of widely different designs, and including bumpers which extend in one way or another prior to impact. Of the latter, there are bumpers having extension mechanisms which are triggered by the application of the vehicle brakes, but depend on a source of power to effect the extension which is independant of the brake system, with the effect of unnecessarily complicating the apparatus.